


The Keeper of the Soul Stone

by Summeral7



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Loki-Friendship, POV First Person, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-05-16 10:04:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14809209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Summeral7/pseuds/Summeral7
Summary: The Reader is the Keeper of the Soul Stone in this alternate universe set before Infinity War. When you sense Thanos coming, you escape to your safe-house, hoping to remain hidden. But after Loki quickly finds you, he wants to bring you back to the Avengers so they can use you to help them stop Thanos. Knowing you've mastered the power of the strongest Infinity Stone, you agree and find yourself training and fighting among the Avengers, and developing feelings for a certain God of Thunder. Will you be able to stop Thanos and allow yourself to fall in love with Thor?I'm bad at summaries, but give this a read and hopefully you won't regret it! :)





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thanks for trying out this fic! This is my first one, so I hope you enjoy :) I've written this in the reader's first person, instead of second person, just because it's easier for me to write in first person, but it's still you!! This story is set in an alternate universe where the soul stone has chosen you as its "keeper" and you've been able to master its powers. After watching Infinity War, I distracted myself from the pain of everyone's death by thirsting after Thor, so there will be some Thor x Reader action in later chapters!

I thought I had been careful enough on my way here. Throughout the course of 3 days, I changed cars four times just to avoid detection. I even purchased a bicycle and biked the last 10 miles on ungroomed trails in the woods where my safe-house was. But apparently I still have a lot to learn about getting off the radar when super-humans and aliens were involved.

 

Coming home for the summer after a long year of college was something I had been relatively looking forward to. Saying goodbye to college friends for a few months was hard, but I landed a once in a lifetime internship that just so happened to be in Connecticut, the state I grew up in and where my family still lived. So free housing and reconnecting with childhood friends were just a few of the perks that came with my summer plans this year. Unfortunately, the universe didn’t care about my plans.

 

I squeezed my eyes shut as I plopped down on the old sofa in my tiny cabin, replaying the events of the past few days.

 

_Everyone was laughing around the table after having finished a huge meal. A neighborhood reunion dinner had quickly been organized as soon as people heard that you’d be finally coming home again. You had been avoiding coming back. You knew even your mere presence radiated an aura that super-humans could easily detect, and with the rise of people with enhanced abilities, you hadn’t wanted to put the people you grew up with and loved in danger._

_“(Y/N) we are so glad you’ll be here for the summer. It feels like we haven’t seen you in ages.” Your childhood friend’s mother smiles at you warmly, unaware of who you’ve become in the last few years. You’re grateful for her comment though, you needed some reassurance about being back here._

_“Thank you, it feels good to be back. I’m excited to catch up with everyone.” Turning your attention back to where the neighbors you grew up with, now all in their early 20s like yourself, were reminiscing about dumb old high school drama, you caught the eye of the guy you used to fool around with when you were 16 and failed to suppress a blush. Maybe you could ask if he’s still single. A summer fling with him would be fun._

_Suddenly, you feel a surge of power course through your veins, lasting longer than the 2 before them had. You forcefully pushed back your chair and stood up, forcing yourself to stop from basically running out of the room. You ignored concerned glances cast your way, instead hurrying to the nearest bathroom and locking yourself in. Grasping the sides of the sink, you gasp sharply, trying to suck in as much air as you could as the tremors continue to pulse through your body. The Stone was trying to warn you. You could only hear it saying one thing:_

_“He’s coming for us.”_

 

Opening my eyes and finally realizing for the first time in 3 days that I was in a safe place, I began to think about what had happened logically. I know the surges are caused by someone named Thanos, because that’s the only name the Stone has given me after every surge. So either he’s destroying the rest of the stones, or he’s harnessing their power in a dangerous way. Whatever he’s doing, the Stone made it clear that he’s dangerous and that we’ll be the next target. That’s why I had to leave.

 

My stomach growled, interrupting my thoughts. “Okay, fine, I guess it’s not like I’ll be ready to fight off Thanos on an empty stomach,” I mumbled, heading into the kitchen.

 

I’m halfway done cooking my scrambled eggs when there’s a knock on the front door. I whirl around, my eyes wide open, realizing the ridiculous number of mistakes I had made. Literally all the lights in the living room and the kitchen were on, I was cooking something perishable, so it’s not like I could fool anyone into thinking it had been abandoned food from years ago, and I left the goddamn TV on.

 

I quickly considered my options in the 2 seconds between the first knock and the second knock. Since I couldn’t make it look like the cabin was empty and abandoned before the stranger would undoubtedly break in, my only chance at giving myself more time to prepare for Thanos would be to manipulate his soul into believing no one was here, or to just kill him. It had been a long time since I’d done either, but I was willing to do whatever it took.

 

“Don’t bother with any form of mind control, I’m pretty much immune,” a snarky voice said, bringing my attention to the door again, where a lithe man with long, dark hair and blue-green eyes had suddenly appeared. I recognized him immediately from TV, although the fact that the door was intact and I knew it hadn’t opened was kind of a dead giveaway. I swallowed thickly as he took a glance at the interior of the cabin.

 

“I expected the Keeper of the Soul Stone to have more impressive living arrangements, but I guess if you prefer a more simplistic style of life, that’s what you prefer,” he smirked at me as he realized I was too in awe to say anything back at the moment. “I guess I should properly introduce myself, seeing as I’m the one who’s intruding. I am Loki, Prince of Asgard, Odinson, the rightful king of the Jotunheim, God of mischief, here surprisingly on behalf of the Avengers and we need your help.”

 

He looked at me expectantly, so I figured I should muster up some sort of reply to his speech.

 

“Can I just call you Loki?”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading all the way to the end!! The first chapters to set up the scene of the story are always the hardest and most tedious, but that Thor action is coming ;)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Reader goes with Loki to the Avengers HQ after some convincing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for coming back! I know I'm making the beginning kind of slow, but hopefully I'm setting up the background okay :)

Loki looked back at me, clearly unimpressed with my witty comeback. “Loki is fine,” he replied dryly. “But that’s not really what’s most important here. Are you going to come with me or not?”

 

I stared at him blankly. Surely, this must be a joke. But he knew who I was somehow, which was not what I was expecting. “Aren’t you the same guy who tried to take over New York and killed a bunch of people?” I asked, making sure he knew that I wasn’t just going to blindly trust him. He sighed.

 

“That was such a long time ago, do you humans not know how to let something go? I wish we could just move past it.”

 

“Did the Avengers move past it? I seriously doubt they’d send you to come and recruit me, or whatever it is you’re trying to do.” I shot back, suddenly angry that he didn’t seem to think murdering innocent people was a big deal. Why on Earth would the Avengers send Loki to talk to me? It doesn’t make any sense.

 

“You have no idea why I did what I did,” he snarled, his eyes dark. He stalked over to me slowly, “Thanos was the one who ordered me to go to New York. I was at his mercy as his prisoner. I am a god and I was reduced to being his prisoner.” Jabbing a finger towards my face for emphasis, he whispered “Imagine what he could do to you. He is one of, if not the most powerful beings in our universe and now he’s trying to collect all of the Infinity Stones.”

 

My eyes were wide, and I knew the Stone was right to warn me. I cast my eyes down, and admitted, “I know Thanos is coming. The Stone has been telling me he’s on his way here. He’s already in possession of three of the Infinity Stones—”

 

“What? How do you know he already has three?” Loki’s fear was not masked, and shock was apparent on his face.

 

“The Soul Stone falls into some sort of distress whenever he captures one of them, and its distress resonates through my body in the form of what feels like a power surge. The third surge I experienced was three days ago, and it was extremely powerful. Thanos is becoming stronger and stronger.” I explained, finally letting myself believe my deepest fear. What looked like grief washed over Loki’s face, and he turned around to face the wall.

 

“He took the Space Stone from me three days ago,” he said quietly, running his hand down his face in agony. “After he wiped the Asgardian race into near extinction. The only reason I stand here before you is because of Heimdall. He was able to send my brother and myself, along with that horrific green monster, to Midgard with the last of his strength.”

 

Heimdall. Why did that name seem familiar to me? Loki turned back around to me, a look of seriousness on his face.

 

“In the brief time that I was the King of Asgard, Heimdall told me to find you after he had seen Thanos destroy Xander for the Power Stone. He knew I wasn’t Odin, but he still told me to find you, that you were our only hope if we wanted to stop Thanos. No one other than myself knows about you. My brother is pulling a lot of strings with those Avenger fools to have let me come here alone to speak with you. I need you to come with me,” he finished, holding out his hand expectantly. I blinked and met his gaze, letting his words roll over me and fully register before I nodded.

 

“I felt Heimdall’s gaze on me a few times,” I affirmed slowly, watching as relief washed over Loki’s face. “But I’m not sure if I can live up to these expectations.” Loki seemed like he was annoyed with my answer.

 

“None of us believe we can defeat Thanos, yet the Universe has decided that we will face him. For some reason, Heimdall and the Soul Stone have chosen and named you, out of everyone in the Universe, so you’re going to have to try to live up to the role, my darling. I am assuming you know how to wield the power of the Soul Stone? I’ve heard that the ones who possess it can kill with just one look,” he smirked at me, cocky enough to try and bate me into agreeing to come with him.

 

“That’s a slight exaggeration,” I sighed, “But yes I know how to use the Soul Stone. When do we leave?”

 

He smiled, knowing he’d won me over. “Right now, of course.” He grabbed my hand, and I felt reality distort. My vision blurred, and the cabin’s flooring shifted and disintegrated beneath my feet.

 

All of a sudden, bright rays of sunlight were shining in my face and I had to blink a few times before my eyes adjusted to the harsh light. In front of me, I saw a big gray square building, with the Avengers logo on the side of the wall.

 

“Welcome to the Avengers Headquarters,” Loki grinned as he watched me take in the view. Before I had a chance to reply, a loud voice boomed through the clearing.

 

“Brother!”

 

We both turned to see a tall, muscular blonde man speed-walking towards us, followed by four others. The man in front, who I assumed was Thor, did not look particularly thrilled to see us.

 

“Are you sure you left with your brother’s permission?” I hissed at Loki. “Getting into trouble with the Avengers is literally the last thing that I was planning to do today.” He shot me an unamused look, but I didn’t think he seemed too bothered by the fact that Thor looked about ready to murder him, which only reassured me a little bit.

 

“What is the meaning of this?” Thor thundered, staring at Loki but gesturing his arms towards me. “I only allowed you to leave because you claimed you knew someone powerful enough to stop Thanos from retrieving more of the Infinity Stones, yet you return with a mere Midgardian! Were you really that lonely here that you needed to go out and find yourself a mortal concubine?”

 

Loki held up his hands in mock surrender, “I would advise you to hold your tongue in her presence, brother,” he smirked at me as I processed Thor’s last sentence. Concubine? Did the God of Thunder just call me a whore?

 

“Who the fuck are you calling a whore?” I yelled back at him before anyone else could speak. “Just because I’m a human you think the only thing I can do is have sex with you assholes?!”

 

I felt pretty proud of myself for actually standing up for myself, because Thor looked surprised at my outburst. Maybe he had expected me to keep quiet.

 

“Woah, woah, woah, let’s all cool off,” a man I recognized as Tony Stark stepped between us, his arms outstretched to separate the two sides, and turned to me, “Before we start another civil war, can you tell us why the God of Pranks over here brought you to us?”

 

“It’s the God of Mischief, you bumbling fool,” I heard Loki mutter under his breath, giving me some more confidence to speak up to the infamous Iron Man.

 

“I’m (Y/N)(Y/L/N), and Thanos is coming after me because I have this,” I willed the Soul Stone to appear as I slowly opened the palm of my hand. Above my open palm, the glowing orange Stone levitated, radiating its pure cosmic energy, and I looked around to gauge everyone’s reactions. They all had wide eyes and incredulous looks on their faces. Even Loki hadn’t expected me to show it.

 

“The Soul Stone,” a different man whispered, sounding as if he couldn’t believe what he was saying. “I had no idea it was on Earth.”

 

 _Stephen Strange, the Keeper of the Time Stone,_ I heard the Soul Stone telling me as I watched his expression. I closed my palm again, forcing the Stone to disappear again. I flexed my fist a few times, to make sure it was safe, before I looked back at everyone. I could only offer a weak smile as they stared at me. Tony was the one to break the silence, as he cleared his throat.

 

“Okay well, I’ll have FRIDAY set up a room for you and we can all head inside and have a little chat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay the Reader finally met Thor! I can't wait for them to interact again one-on-one after their little heated exchange.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Reader properly meets the Avengers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! I'm trying to make the chapters a little longer, so it'll take me a bit more time to write them out, thanks for being patient! Hope you all enjoy :)

I set my glass of water down on the table gently, with only slightly shaky hands. Pretty impressive, considering my entire life and foreseeable future had changed in less than 30 minutes and I had basically no time to adjust. I was already in my first Avengers meeting in their massive living room. Loki had found it rather funny that they agreed to hold the meeting in the living room rather than the usual conference room. He claimed that it was their “pathetic” attempt at acclimating me. I was now sitting at the end of one of the couches, with Loki right next to me. At this point, he was the only I could trust, as sad as that sounded. Doctor Strange sat on the other side of Loki, constantly peering over his shoulder to look at me. He definitely seemed to care the most about my presence. His quiet pestering was slowly driving Loki crazy, I could sense it.

 

“I’m so glad that we’ll have another woman in this place,” Natasha smiled at me warmly and put one of her steady hands over my quivering ones. “Wanda and I are kind of outnumbered.” Although no formal introductions had been made yet, we were still waiting on Steve and Bucky, there’s no way I couldn’t have been able to tell who Natasha Romanoff was. Wanda perked up at the sound of her name and nodded in agreement.

 

“Thank you, hopefully I won’t be bothering you guys for too long,” I replied, even though we were all fully aware of the possibility that I might have to end up staying here with the rest of them. I looked around the room again, just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I recognized most of them from TV. Natasha and Wanda sat off to the side of my couch in comfy looking lounge chairs. Clint and Bruce stood behind Natasha and Wanda’s chairs. Sam and Vision were leaning against the windowsill. Tony and Peter were next to Doctor Strange, with Rhodey not far away. I couldn’t get over the fact that Peter was so young and already involved in Avengers business. Loki must’ve caught me staring because he leaned over and whispered,

 

“I believe he is a little young for you, my darling.”

 

I could feel myself growing red. “Shut up,” I hissed back. “That’s not at all what I was thinking about in the slightest.” I looked ahead to ignore Loki’s presence, but regretted it almost immediately. Directly in front of me, across the table, sat Thor. His face was etched into a deep scowl and his eyes were dark and steely as he had watched my interaction with Loki. However, his expression softened once he realized I was looking at him, and his eyes conveyed an apologetic look. I found myself wondering what had happened to his hair. His once long locks were now razor short on the sides.

 

“Now my brother on the other hand,” I heard Loki say quietly, “You’d have a chance with. He sort of has a thing for Midgardians.”

 

“Oh. My. God.” I closed my eyes, exasperated. “Do you _ever_ stop being annoying?”

 

Loki just shrugged unapologetically. Before I could say anything more, Steve returned with Bucky and everyone’s chattering stopped. Tony cleared his throat.

 

“Now that we’re all here, I think some introductions are in order. We have a surprise guest.” He gestured towards me and I blushed as everyone’s attention fell on me. I gave a small wave and greeted everyone.

 

“Hi, I’m (Y/N)(Y/L/N).”

 

Tony motioned for me to continue. “Come on, go on. Tell everyone why you’re here.”

 

“Well, that’s kind of the funny thing. One minute I was alone in my little cabin, and the next minute Loki showed up and told me that I was basically your last hope, but that you guys don’t know who I am. So he brought me here and now this is happening.” I paused, thinking that I should probably explain myself a little better. “But I also have this,” and opened my palm again to show off the Soul Stone to the ones who hadn’t seen it earlier. “And it conveniently taught me how to harness its power over the years that I’ve had it.”

 

“Wait, it taught you?” Steve interrupted, clearly confused. “The Stone is alive?”

 

I nodded. “You could say that it’s alive. All the stones are cosmic entities. I’m not quite sure why I can hear the Soul Stone. It might just be a quality of this particular stone if you guys can’t hear yours.” I motioned towards Vision and Doctor Strange, who both looked deep in thought. “Or it might be because it chose me, but like I said, I’m not sure.” I closed my palm, and felt it disappear within me.

 

“Woah! Where’d it go?” Peter asked, mystified. I laughed softly.

 

“I won’t be able to explain everything very well because I barely know what it truly does myself. But it’s kind of like a part of me. You guys could only see it because I wanted it to show itself. Then, when I close my palm, it gets, like, reabsorbed into me. I can feel its energy coursing through my veins all the time.”

 

“So if Thanos is collecting the stones, how would he get yours if it’s a part of you?” Doctor Strange asked. “My stone, as well as Vision’s stone, is in a clearly visible and physical state of being. Yours is more hidden in a visual sense.”

 

“That’s true,” I agreed. “But he’d still be able to sense its energy within me and he could theoretically draw it out of me like I just did. If he’s not smart enough to do that, he might just kill me.” Once I said it out loud, I realized I wasn’t kidding. I guess that’s only slightly terrifying. “I’m kind of late to this whole superhero thing, but this is just a regular occurrence for you guys, right? I mean, people want to kill you all the time, is Thanos as scary as Loki makes him out to be? Or is this the real deal?” I asked. I figured I’d need to know if I was really throwing myself into mortal danger. Then again, do I even die like regular humans? I’d rather not find out. It seemed like a look was exchanged throughout the room, but Thor was the one who spoke.

 

“We faced Thanos right after I thought we had overcome our greatest obstacle, so although I had not been particularly thrilled to engage in combat again so soon, I had been fairly confident. Thanos eradicated the Asgardian race within mere minutes. Loki, Banner, and I are only here because of Heimdall.”

 

“Who’s that again?” Tony asked.

 

“He was an Asgardian who was all-seeing and guarded the Bi-Frost.” Thor answered.

 

“Heimdall was the one who told me to find (Y/N).” Loki chimed in. “Mind you, all this Thanos business happened after Thor realized his full potential as the God of Thunder and gave up his title as the God of Hammers.” Tony raised an eyebrow at that.

 

“Oh yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask you about that thing, where’d you put it?” he asked, clearly referring to Mjolnir. Thor gave him a look.

 

“My sister crushed it with her bare hand.” He replied dryly.

 

“Oh, that’s lovely.” Tony turned back to me. “Well now that we know who you are, you should probably know who we are. I’m Tony, a.k.a Iron Man, the coolest avenger. I build shit and make sure everything works.”

 

“I’m Peter Parker and Spider-man, I’m still new here,” he flashed me a grin and I instantly warmed up to him.

 

One by one, everyone but Loki introduced themselves to me. Thor was the last one to do so.

 

“I am Thor Odinson, God of Thunder,” he quietly announced, in a solemn tone, not fully meeting my eyes. Okay, so I guess we’re not friends yet. He did call me Loki’s whore. Tony clapped his hands together.

 

“Alright, now that that’s out of the way and we all know each other—”

 

“We all know you want to forget us Tony,” Clint said, grinning widely and making Natasha and Wanda laugh.

 

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, Thanos is coming and we gotta see what (Y/N)’s made out of.” He looked at me. “What exactly can you do?”

 

“She can kill people with her mind.” Loki offered up helpfully. I rolled my eyes.

 

“I literally _never_ said that.” I protested.

 

“Well Heimdall wouldn’t have told me to get you unless you could do some truly destructive stuff.” Loki shrugged. “So what’s up your sleeve?” I could tell everyone was waiting for an answer.

 

“I would say the Stone enhanced me. Like I’m a little stronger, faster, you know the drill,” I started.

 

“Are you as strong as me and Bucky?” Steve interrupted.

 

“I’m not sure,” I replied, feeling dumb. Thinking it all over now, it feels like I barely knew anything about the Soul Stone.

 

“Well, I’m sure we’ll find out soon,” Steve answered brightly to encourage me. “I’ll be first in line to spar with you.”

 

“Count me in too,” Bucky said gruffly, but with a little grin. I smiled back, grateful they weren’t upset.

 

“I can also shoot these energy forcefield things from my hands.” I formed one in my hand to demonstrate. I was suddenly really glad I had forced myself to keep practicing them, because as soon as I imagined one being there, it appeared. A bright, glowing orange globe the size of a baseball. “I can make it bigger, but you get the point. Big ball of energy that go straight through most materials and destroy them.” I made the ball disappear and thought some more. “I guess I can also control other living beings by manipulating their souls. That was a little trickier to figure out how to do right every time, but I made a lot of birds sing.” I took a deep breath before continuing and looked up at everyone. “I’ve never really practiced using the Stone on real people much because I’ve been afraid to hurt them. But yes, to confirm Loki’s theory, I know I can technically kill people with my mind.”

 

“Knew it,” I heard Loki mutter quietly.

 

“But I’ve only done it once. And I’m not sure if I’d remember how to do it, I’m pretty sure I’ve repressed that memory,” I admitted, chuckling darkly, trying to pretend I don’t constantly think about that day and the damage I can cause. I feel Natasha grabbing my hand and squeezing it reassuringly.

 

“Hey, everyone here has made mistakes and some terrible decisions. Whatever you did doesn’t make you a bad person.” She said gently, reminding me of a mother. I smiled back gratefully as everyone mulled over what I had said.

 

“Would you mind showing us your powers in action?” Steve asked innocently.

 

“Right now?” I was surprised. I guess they’re throwing me right into it.

 

“A little entertainment before dinner?” Thor grinned at the prospect of this. I looked at the intricate clock hung above the fireplace and realized it was past 7 and I never had the chance to eat the eggs I made back in the cabin. “I’ll volunteer to be the guinea pig. Let’s go outside.” He announced. I paled as I realized I’d have to bend the will of the God of Thunder. If he’s trying to make up for his comment earlier, he’s definitely picking the weirdest way to do it. Nevertheless, apparently everyone agreed, and I found myself following them outside into the fresh summer air.

 

“Bring me to my knees, (Y/N).” Thor turned to you after we all gathered in front of the building.

 

“Excuse me?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

 

“If you can make a God kneel before you, I’m sure Thanos will not be much different.” He proclaimed.

 

“You’ve always thought much too highly of yourself, brother,” Loki snorted. “Do you really think that will be difficult for her to do?”

 

“It’s a warm-up, Loki,” Thor mumbled, a bit of his bravado gone. I already held my hand up.

 

“Ready?” I asked nervously. He only nodded in response. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply to concentrate. I looked within myself for the Stone’s power and gathered part of it up in my stomach. Demanding it to come out, I felt it run the length of my arms and out through my fingertips. Looking at Thor, I knew the energy was transferring between us. Although it was invisible in the space separating us, Thor’s veins, starting from the bottom of his legs, began glowing orange. Soon his entire body was outlined in orange lines and he gritted his teeth as the Stone infiltrated his soul. Straightening out my hand so that my palm was facing to the side, I slowly lowered it. His knees bent further and further, as my fingers began facing the ground. I could feel Thor’s energy and power running alongside the Stone’s within me and its sheer strength was intoxicating. I felt his electricity pulse through me. It made me feel like a god. Still, I tried to stay focused, and as soon as my fingers pointed all the way towards the ground, his knees gave out and hit the ground forcefully. Thor groaned in relief, expecting me to release him from my hold, but I couldn’t. The Stone was speaking to me: _We need his power to defeat Thanos._ I could feel his soul helpless in my hands, and I realized I was slowly absorbing his power. _Close your fist and crush his soul_. I could hear the Stone demanding me to take all of it. My fingers started to curl inwards and I saw his shoulders cave in as he dropped to his hands. He let out a deep, pained cry and I snapped out of it. Drawing the energy quickly back towards me, I let it leave Thor’s body completely. He gasped as it left him, letting him go of its painful grip. I knew from experience the whole exchange lasted 5 seconds, but it always felt like an hour to me. I’m sure it had felt the same to Thor. Still, I hadn’t expected to lose control that easily. I wondered if anyone else had noticed.

 

“Holy shit, that was awesome!” Peter exclaimed, “Remind me to stay on your good side.”

 

“Yeah, I think you’ll survive the night here,” Tony joked. “You good, Sparky?” Thor was still on his hands and knees, taking ragged breaths.

 

“Never better,” he replied, sounding extremely out of breath.

 

“Alright, let’s break for dinner.” Natasha said, leading the way back into HQ. I wasn’t sure whether or not to leave Thor behind, but Loki grabbed my arm and dragged me away from him behind the others before I could make a decision.

 

“Did you almost just kill my brother?” He hissed, quiet enough so no one else would hear him. Of course Loki would’ve noticed.

 

“No!” I quickly said defensively, trying to convince us both.

 

“You know I can tell that you’re lying, right?”

 

I ignored his comment and cast a glance behind my shoulder at Thor, who had now changed position to sit on his butt. He was staring at me with a frown, so I whipped my head around again. The guilty feeling rushed back to me. “In my defense, he volunteered to test it.”

******** 

 

The Avengers had invited me to stay in the living room with them after dinner while they watched some TV, but I declined, citing exhaustion as my reason. Steve had politely shown me to my room, and now I was just getting ready to change into some pajamas. I was pleasantly surprised when I had noticed the room’s closet was fully stocked. I opted for some simple pajama bottom shorts and a soft gray hoodie.

 

Laying back in the queen bed, I replayed the day’s events in my bed. Was I an Avenger now? It might be a little soon to call myself that, but eventually maybe. After all, I did almost kill a team member, so I’m definitely no superhero yet. “Why did you want to kill Thor, you dumb Stone? Aren’t you powerful enough already?” I muttered.

 

No answer.

 

“That’s cool, that’s cool.” I sigh and close my eyes. I can’t afford to fuck up. Training everyday with the most capable people on the planet didn’t sound so unappealing now. I need it.

 

All of a sudden, there was a knock on my door. I frowned. I’m pretty sure I had made it clear that I was going to sleep. Maybe it’s Steve with extra towels or blankets or something of that matter.

 

I swing my legs over the side of the bed and walk the three strides it is to the door. I muster up a smile as I open it, but I come face-to-face with the God of Thunder, instead of Captain America, who I so rather would have seen right now.

 

“Hello,” he says awkwardly. “May I speak with you?”

 

I blink, trying to force my sleepy brain to stay awake. “Uh, sure. What’s up?” I stay in the doorway, making sure he knows that I’m not letting him into the room. I’d rather keep this conversation as short as possible.

 

“I wanted to come apologize.” He runs his hands through his short hair sheepishly. Meanwhile, I’m slack jawed, trying to remember why he was the one apologizing when I nearly crushed his soul just a few hours ago. “For calling you a concubine.” He clarified when he saw my expression.

 

“Oh yeah!” I exclaimed. It felt like days ago that he made that comment. “You called me Loki’s whore, I almost forgot.” He coughed.

 

“Well, yes, right. I was angry because I assumed Loki had brought an innocent Midgardian into a dangerous situation. But I took my anger out on you as well. For that, I apologize.”

 

“I understand.” I gave him a tentative smile. “He kinda does have a pretty bad track record.”

 

“Indeed.” Thor laughed. For a second, the air around us wasn’t tense. Only one second though, because the next, he already turned serious again. “Do you really have full control of the Stone? I’d like to think what happened earlier was out of your control.”

 

I blushed furiously. Right, of course he had noticed that I almost killed him. “Sorry about that,” I mumbled, looking down. “I didn’t mean to put you in danger. I guess practicing on animals is definitely not the same as practicing on a powerful God. I still have a lot to learn.”

 

“I believe you and I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. That’s why I think this should stay between the two of us. I know firsthand how difficult these things can be to control, but I’m not sure the others will be as understanding.”

 

I could sense he was being serious, so I nodded in agreement. Being locked up wasn’t on my list of things to do. Finally making direct eye contact with him, I meekly managed to suggest, “Maybe we can train together then?”

 

“I agree it would be safest for you to practice on me. But make no mistake.” He leaned down closer to my face and lowered his voice. “If I come to learn you are deceiving me and give me reason to believe you’d betray us for Thanos, you will feel the full wrath of the God of Thunder.”

 

I gulped audibly. “Gotcha.”

 

“Goodnight, Lady (Y/N).”  He said gruffly.

 

“’Night.” I muttered and gently closed the door, leaning up against it. I held my breath until I heard him walk away. That could’ve gone better. Note to self, don’t fuck with Thor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've watched Thor: Ragnarok twice in the last two days, so I really want to have the Reader get with Thor already, but I also don't want it to happen too quickly at the same time! Cuz I mean honestly, how can anyone resist Ragnarok Thor?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Reader has her first day as an Avenger!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, I've been feeling really unmotivated about everything because I haven't been able to find a job, but I finally pieced something together! I don't know how I feel about this chapter, but hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things soon. Hope you enjoy :)

“(Y/N)?”

I dug my head further into my pillow and turned away from the voice calling my name.

“(Y/N).”

Who the fuck is trying to wake me up on a Sunday morning and not getting the hint that I'm not waking up yet. 

"(Y/N)!"

The voice sounded annoyed now, but I didn’t really care. I had had the most unrestful sleep in the entire history of sleeps, waking up almost every hour, and I was not ready to face the day. I grabbed the end of my duvet and pulled it over my head defiantly. Although it muffled the noise, I should still hear someone shuffling to the end of the end. Suddenly, I felt long cold fingers wrap around my ankle, and with one swift pull, I slid all the way from the top of my bed to the floor.

I screamed as I hit the floor. I shot my arm all the way up and felt my attacker hit the ceiling so hard, small pieces of it broke off. I only opened my eyes after I heard a defeated groan and was greeted by the sight of Loki being pinned to the ceiling by my orange forcefield. 

“Goddammit Loki!” I exclaimed, lowering him gently back to the floor. “You scared the shit out of me.”

“I think that was a pretty reasonable way to wake you up,” he retorted. “After all, I did try to wake you up nicely before I forced you out of the bed.”

I scoffed, just in time before Thor ran into the room. 

“What has happened?” He demanded, looking between the two of us. “I heard Lady (Y/N) scream.” I started to open my mouth to reply, but Loki beat me to it.

“Nothing, brother, I have everything under control as you can see.” 

Thor gave us a strange look, so I don’t think he believed us, but he turned around and left nonetheless. I sighed, trying to accept the fact that he’s probably not going to trust me for a while. 

“Do you think he’s taken a fancy to you?” Loki asked mischievously after we’d sat in silence for a bit. “He did come in here to check on you after he heard your cry, after all.” Maybe he thought his banter would amuse me, but just the mention of the God of Thunder made me ashamed. The events of yesterday kept running through my head all night, waking me up. The fact that I’d almost killed Thor, in front of everyone, chilled me to the bone.

“No, that’s literally the opposite of what he thinks of me.” I said, shaking my head sadly. Loki cocked his head.

“Why do you say that?” 

“Because he told me himself that he doesn’t trust me.” I admit. “Last night, he came here to warn me that he’d personally destroy me if I gave him any reason to believe I might be lying about who I am. He knows I almost killed him yesterday, that I hadn’t been fully in control. And I don’t blame him. What if I slip up like that again, or worse?” 

When I looked over at Loki, he appeared to be deep in thought. “My brother,” he began, “has suffered more in the last three days than he ever has in his entire life. He made the decision to sacrifice his home planet to save his people. He only got to enjoy being King and the Savior of Asgard for a mere hour before Thanos found us and wiped the Asgardian race into extinction. I imagine he carries a burden on his shoulders larger than most.” 

He stood up and offered me his hand, which I gratefully took. “Thor is not the same man who fought me in New York. He is not the same man who fought in Sokovia. He lost his innocence and his arrogance along with his people and his loved ones. His only family left is me, his disgrace of an adopted brother who has betrayed him more times than he can count and who is a villain to people on many planets across the universe. I apologize for my brother’s words. But I believe you can help him.” 

“How?” 

“By helping him kill Thanos. He needs to avenge our people, for the sake of his own sanity. I fear the guilt is overtaking him. If you can kill Thor, I know you can destroy Thanos.” 

I nod and decide not to mention how the Stone seemed desperate to obtain Thor’s power in preparation for facing Thanos. If Loki was this confident in me, I couldn’t bear to crush his hope for me to save the day with his brother. As we walked towards the kitchen, I found myself wondering if Thor had any hope left, after everything that had happened. I knew the immense amount of guilt I would get after I hurt people accidentally, but I couldn’t imagine how overwhelming the guilt must be for him if he’s blaming himself for the decimation of his home and people that he was supposed to protect at all costs. 

“I only tell you this because I think you need to know why Thor is the way he is now if you’re going to work with him,” Loki explained, stopping before we came into the earshot of the others who were already eating breakfast. “So please, keep this conversation between the two of us.” 

“Fair enough,” I agreed. I could understand why Loki didn’t want anyone else to know that Thor was struggling. He seemed like someone who didn’t want other people to worry about him. 

“(Y/N)!” 

I turned my head and smiled at Steve, who had called my name. 

“How’d you sleep? The first night can be hard sometimes.” He looked at me so sympathetically, I think my heart almost melted. 

“It wasn’t too bad actually, if you ignore the rude wake-up call I got,” I replied. 

“Was that what I heard just before?” Thor asked dryly, though I thought I saw a flash of amusement wash across his face for a second.

“Oh, I sent Loki because I figured you’re the most familiar with him as of right now,” Steve admitted sheepishly. “Sorry about that, maybe I should’ve known better.” 

“Hey, I attempted to wake her up politely, but she proved herself to be rather stubborn.” This was Loki’s defense and I had to laugh when I remembered what I did to him. 

“Hopefully you learned your lesson,” I teased half-heartedly. Loki could only wink mischievously in return, which did not go unnoticed by Thor, who could only raise an eyebrow while quickly looking between the two of us.

The attention on me died down as I went over to Bruce, who stood behind the stove, cooking and serving up eggs and bacon. I took a filled plate from his outstretched hand with a grateful smile and made my way over to one of the barstools by the kitchen island to eat. I could finally just observe the Avengers in a normal setting, watching them all interacting with one another easily, laughing and exchanging stories. Even Loki was engaged, animatedly telling Peter how I had launched him at the ceiling this morning. Could I be a part of this family eventually? Could I really just leave all my studies behind, all semblances of a normal life? I haven’t even thought about my family until now, who’d probably be wondering how I’m doing. In my haste to leave quickly, I had told them my summer internship wanted me to live in a company-owned building. The same summer internship that I’d have to cancel now. I groaned upon realizing this and ran my hands through my hair to try and calm my sudden frustration. 

“It feels like home after a short while,”

“Oh Jesus,” I exclaim, my hand flying to my heart reflexively. “Thor, you scared the crap out of me.”

“My apologies, I did not mean to frighten, merely to comfort.” 

“I appreciate it,” I sigh, “I just didn’t even notice you sat down next to me.” 

He chuckled, “Indeed, you seemed deep in thought. I thought perhaps you might be experiencing feelings of homesickness.”

I had to stare at him disbelievingly for a minute. He was threatening me just last night, now he’s trying to play Dr. Phil? “Uh, thanks, I’ll be okay. Just trying to process everything, I guess.” I pretend to be extremely interested in my eggs, hoping he’d get the hint.

“Right, well, rest assured, this place will become homely to you soon.” He suddenly looked awkward. “Also, Pepper keeps a calming tea stocked in the kitchen, it’s very soothing during restless nights.” 

I looked at him suspiciously. “Why would you think I’m having trouble sleeping?”

“Ah well, Asgardians have heightened senses and I’m in the room next door, so,” 

“So you heard me toss and turn all night,” I finish for him. His nod confirms my fear. “Oh great, that’s not embarrassing,” I groan. 

He offers a small smile and puts a hand on my shoulder. “Pepper’s tea is wonderful,” Then he stood up and joined Loki and Peter on the couch. 

I quickly finished the rest of my food to spare myself further embarrassment and feel a pang in my chest. Maybe Thor was right about the homesickness, or maybe it’s just the fact that I might be in mortal danger very soon and my family wouldn’t have any idea if I die in the next few days. I start to head towards my room, but before I can leave the kitchen, Steve calls my name again.

“(Y/N)! Can you meet in the gym in half an hour? We’re all training today, and I’d love to spar with you!” 

His cheerfulness is infectious, and I find myself grinning back, “Absolutely!” 

 

Back in comfortable solitude of my own room, I take a deep breath. I don’t know when everything started getting overwhelming, but I just needed to take a step back. I think seeing everyone, The Avengers, together and casually eating breakfast before a potential apocalypse happens was too surreal. Thanos is the real deal, and he’s for sure coming to Earth. It’s no secret that Vision has the Mind Stone imbedded in his forehead, and it’s fairly obvious that the Masters of the Mystic Arts have had the Time Stone in their possession for a long time. Thanos isn’t an idiot, he’s coming to Earth. I just don’t know if he knows where the Soul Stone is. Based on the fact that Loki thinks that I can kill Thanos in the blink of an eye with the help of Thor, I’m feeling a bit of pressure. Not only that, but I also feel like a liar! I know the Stone wanted to keep Thor’s power for itself, wouldn’t that mean it knows it’s not powerful enough on its own to kill Thanos itself? I rub my eyes, feeling extremely stressed out. 

“Get a hold of yourself,” I muttered. “It’s not like I’m their only hope.”

No, but if he gets us first, the rest of them are as good as dead and he’ll be unstoppable. 

“Oh right, cool. I love how reassuring you are, I feel so much better now.” 

The only thing I could think of that would make me feel better is a hot shower. I figure I have enough time to squeeze a quick one in. The bathroom is absolutely breathtaking, all tiled and super modern. There’s a huge mirror above the granite-top sink and plenty of house plants to complete the aesthetic. I’m tempted to use the jacuzzi bathtub, but the shower is way more practical in the short time I have. The shower door is glass, and inside there are two showerheads, one on the ceiling and one detachable one, and three dials, one for temperature, one for setting where the water would come out, and the other for water pressure. While I wait for the shower water to heat up, I sit on the toilet and text my parents that all is well, and the internship is great so far. It’s not that the lying particularly bothers me, God knows I’ve lied to them plenty in my life, but something in the back of my head doesn’t let me forget that any time I talk to them might be the last time they hear from me. I make sure to text that I love and miss everyone before I abandon my phone to check the water temperature. 

The mirror’s already started to steam up, and I stretch my toes into the steady stream of water before deciding it’s hot enough. Once my whole body is in the shower cabin, I stick my head right under the shower head on the ceiling and let the scalding hot water run down from my head to my feet. Rolling back my head, I crack my neck to relieve some of the built-up pressure and instantly feel my muscles relax. The intense heat I’ve set the water to is slowly turning my skin a reddish-pink. I can’t help but shudder as I lean my back against the slightly cooler tiled wall. I have to force myself to remember my time limit and reach for one of the various soap bars that Tony stocked this shower with. 

The smell released by the soap was just heavenly, and I relished the smooth sensation it left on my skin. I kept lathering myself up until I was completely covered in soap. Then, as I stepped back under the running water, my eye goes to the water control dial and an idea suddenly pops into my head. I let all the soap wash off my body before, without thinking too much, changing the shower settings so that the water would come out of the detachable showerhead. I grab it, letting the threaded-looking wire cord stretch as I pull it closer to me. My free hand goes for the water pressure control, turning the dial until the water is coming out as three big, forceful streams. My pussy quivers as I bring the showerhead down to it, and I close my eyes as the water hits me.

I fiddle with the angle, until one stream is hitting my clit, and the other two are pushing up into me. The force of the raw pleasure that it brings me is intense, as it stimulates all of my senses. I lean my back against the wall and lock my knees, so I don’t slip. I push the showerhead up and around my pussy, feeling the water hit every part of it. 

My stomach starts to tighten. I think I can almost feel fingertips pressing into my skin and gripping my thighs, and the water begins to feel like a tongue, unrelenting in the ministrations. My hips buck unconsciously as I chase my orgasm. My fingers start to curl around the showerhead, and it feels like there’s suddenly a head full of hair underneath my palm. I open my eyes slowly, and I see a man on his knees in front of me, with his head buried between my legs. My breath hitches when he tilts his face up at me, and I register his short, buzzed hair, rugged beard, and bright blue eyes. As soon as I realize whose face I’m looking at, I moan. My orgasm hits me all at once and forces my eyes to close again.

My legs shake as the waves of pleasure die down, and I faintly remember where I am. My vision comes back to me slowly and I’m aware of my throbbing pussy, still being assaulted by water. Glancing down, I see the showerhead still in my hand. I blink in confusion as I turn the water off. Did I really just imagine the God of Thunder going down on me?

I reached for my towel and wrapped it around my body, still in disbelief that my mind would’ve conjured up the image of Thor in its lust-filled state. Talk about someone totally out of my league, not to mention I totally almost killed him just yesterday.

“(Y/N)!” 

Yikes, was it already time? I must’ve lost track of how long I was in the shower for. 

“One sec! I’ll be right out!” 

I quickly flung open the doors of the huge walk-in closet that was magically filled with clothes, all in my size. I wasn’t exactly sure how that happened, but I won’t complain. I grabbed what looked like a good workout outfit, a pair of gray shorts and a plain, black racerback tank top. I threw on a black sports bra first, my face turning red at the thought of someone having to buy me a bunch of bras, and then I put on the rest of the clothes I picked out. 

I was slightly out of breath when I flung the door open, which caused Loki to shoot me an amused look. 

“Enjoyed your shower?” he asked, and I immediately grew suspicious. Maybe I could blame my Thor shower experience on Loki’s magic.

“Did you do anything to me?” I demanded, blushing furiously. He appeared to grow concerned, because he replied,

“No, why? Did something happen to you while you were alone? I believe Stark has a thorough security system, we can look back at the video footage if you believe it is necessary.” 

“Oh no, that’s not necessary, never mind, everything is fine.” I almost stumbled over my words, I tried to get them out so fast. Were there cameras in the bathroom? I didn’t even bother to check. The last thing I need is the Avengers looking over their security footage and catching me masturbating in the shower. That would be more than a little awkward. 

Loki gave me a look that made it seem like he didn’t believe me, but he led me to the elevator anyway. 

“So did they appoint you to be my tour guide?” I asked once we were in the elevator, only a little desperate to try and make him forget about what I had said. 

“Not officially, but when we all realized you were the only one not present, that star-spangled idiot told me to go fetch you. We overlooked the fact that you haven’t been given a full tour of the facilities yet.” 

I nodded silently, and noticed that the elevator was going down, not up. 

“Your gym is underground?” 

Loki smirked as the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. 

“Stark’s facility is rather impressive, I will admit.” 

I could only gape in awe as I took in the sight in front of me. To call this place a gym was an understatement. There were five huge square mats in the middle of a gigantic open space in the center of the gym. They were almost like fighting arenas. Then there was a weight room to the right side, full of barbells, exercise machines, and punching bags. The locker rooms were to the left. Everything, especially the spaces in the center, was just so big. The Avengers were putting it to good use, everyone was already here. Wanda and Vision were sparring on the first mat, giving me the opportunity to see Wanda’s powers in action. I wonder why she wasn’t expected to obliterate Thanos, her red glowing hands certainly looked impressive, although I don’t know the full extent of her abilities. Looking to the side, I saw Natasha and Clint laughing in the weight room, and Steve and Bucky were squatting an impressive amount of weights on their barbells. 

“Hey (Y/N)! Welcome to our gym,” Steve jogged over when he saw Loki and I walk over to a bench by the locker rooms. “Sorry for not remembering to send someone for you earlier, I forgot that you don’t know where anything is yet.” 

I smiled when I saw him, he always looked so genuine. I don’t know how anyone could ever be mad at him.

“No worries!” I replied brightly, truly meaning it. 

“Are you still interested in sparring with me? Thor told me he wanted to go a round with you too, so I don’t want you to push yourself too hard on your first day. The Soul Stone magic is the priority.” 

The thought of fighting Thor again so soon wasn’t too appealing. Sparring with Steve might help take my mind off things. 

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine! I’d love to spar with you.” I beamed, hoping what I said would be true. After all, I’ve never fought a super soldier before.

“Great!” 

He led me over to one of the mats. I could feel Loki’s gaze following me, although I wasn’t surprised. He’d obviously want to see if I could hold my own against Captain America. 

“Brother! Care to spar with me?” 

I turned my head to follow the sound of the booming voice that projected across the room and was met with the gorgeous sight of a shirtless Thor, who had just come out of the men’s locker room. Holy shit, his abs were a work of art. I couldn’t help but stare at them. The light seemed to just bounce off his skin at just the right angle, making it look golden and highlighting the definition of each ridge. I definitely didn’t miss the various nasty-looking cuts and bruises that were etched around his torso either, making me remember that we were about to face that same alien that had made a God bleed. 

“No one else here is a match for you, dear brother? I thought these were Earth’s mightiest heroes.” Loki chuckled before getting up from the bench. “I suppose I can entertain you for a bit.” He gave me a quick wink when he caught me staring shamelessly at Thor, who luckily didn’t notice I had been paying attention to their exchange. 

“So, have you ever sparred like this, (Y/N)?” Steve asked, and I snapped my attention back to him. 

“No, I haven’t ever really told anyone about the Soul Stone, so I’ve never had a training partner or anything.” I admitted.

“Oh wow, that must’ve been hard for you.” 

I could only shrug in response. I hadn’t ever really thought about using the Stone for fighting or anything. 

“Well, anyway, we’ll take it easy for your first time. Let me know if I’m going too hard on you.” 

I nodded in response, and he sprang into action, launching his body at me and wrapping his arms around my waist to pull me down. I didn’t react quickly enough, although somehow, I feel like I knew what he was about to do. Was that another ability the Stone gave me? In any case, I found myself on the floor, sprawled out awkwardly. Steve just laughed and reassured me that I’d get the hang of it. Offering me his hand, he helped me up.

We continued this for awhile, and I landed on the mat several times before I could finally retaliate. I had been focusing more on trying to tap into that ability to predict his movements a split second before he made them. Even though Steve switched up how he knocked me down every time we restarted, I felt like I knew instinctively how he’d do it. 

I decided to make a move after my back started hurting from how many times it had been forcefully shoved to the ground. Once I was back up again, he struck out his hand, aiming for my shoulder to get my balance off. I swiveled my shoulder to the side and caught his arm. He seemed surprised that I had actually attempted to immobilize him. Quickly, I shoved my back into his body, ducked down, and pulled his arm to flip him over me. 

He looked stunned as his back hit the ground with an audible thud, and I could only grin back at him. The gym had gone silent, and I noticed Loki and Thor staring at me out of the corner of my eye. Slowly, Steve mirrored my expression. 

“That was awesome! You’re strong enough to flip me! How did you know that would work?” 

I paused and realized that I had just assumed I could. “I actually didn’t know, I just did whatever came to mind first.”

“Well, let’s test it out a little longer. I’d like to see how much you can do.” 

I laughed at his excitement and agreed. 

This time, he tried to roundhouse kick me, aiming for my stomach. I buckled my knees as soon as I saw his foot come off the ground. I bent my knees forward and made my body follow the motion, so that it was completely parallel to the ground as Steve’s leg and foot stretched out above my head. I braced both hands on the mat and shifted all my body weight, so I could kick both legs up, striking his leg and forcing him to fall on his butt. I let myself go into a handstand and quickly flip back over onto my feet. 

Steve is still sitting when I stand up, but he’s just grinning. 

“I also forgot to mention that I do gymnastics.” I told him cheekily, and he had to laugh. 

My sparring with Steve went on for another good hour, and I let myself rely on my newfound ability to predict his actions throughout our session. I was surprised to see that I was just as strong and as fast as Steve. 

“I think I’m getting my ass kicked,” he laughs after he finds himself on his back again. “It took you awhile to warm up, but you’re getting the hang of it.” 

“Thanks,” I say, feeling extremely proud of myself. 

“I told Thor I’d let him know when we were done, but only if you’re still up for it. I know we mainly worked on physical stuff and he wants to focus on the magic stuff more, but no pressure at all if you’re feeling tired. It’s only your first day, after all.” 

I smile back, knowing I’d found another friend in Steve. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone with a heart as big as his. 

“No, I’m feeling okay. The more practice I can get in, the better.” 

He nodded and walked off to where Loki and Thor were deep in conversation. I was curious to know if Thor had said anything about me to Loki, and I made a mental note to ask him about it later. After Steve called out to Thor though, his attention was shifted from Loki to Captain America. I thought I saw Thor nod a few times, apparently agreeing to whatever Steve was saying, before he caught my gaze. 

I quickly averted my eyes and turned around, feeling embarrassed that I’d been seen. I heard his loud footsteps come my way and tried to calm my nerves. I guess I still felt a little apprehensive in his presence. 

“Lady (Y/N),” he says in his deep, sensual voice. “Captain Rogers informed me that you’re ready to practice with the Stone. We can begin now, unless you have any objections.” 

“No, let’s get it over with.” I said, knowing it’d be better to start today, because who knows if we’d be able to tomorrow. Thanos will be here any day now. 

Thor nodded. 

“Let’s begin with basic target practice. Strike me with your energy fields, and I will do my best to dodge them.” 

“What if I hurt you?” Hurting Thor again would definitely not help my chances at getting him to trust me, but Thor only scoffed at my question.

“I’ve faced the Goddess of Death, I should hope I can handle being struck by a little ball of energy from your Stone.”

So much for all of his arrogance being gone. 

I didn’t want to say anything to protest, especially after replaying Loki’s words from this morning in my head. If he was feeling confident again, who was I to ruin his good mood. 

He backed away from me and motioned for me to try and hit him. I followed his lead and summoned a ball of energy to my palm, going slowly so I wouldn’t mess up, even though I knew I had mastered this a long time ago. The energy field was no bigger than a baseball, but I wasn’t going to take any chances in case I accidentally hit him. I suspected that I’d be able to predict all of his moves, like I could with Steve, so I’d have to try to purposefully miss.

And that’s exactly what I did when I released my energy from my body. I could feel him shifting his weight, so when he shifted it to the left, I aimed just slightly to the right of his chest and fired. 

When he quickly moved to the left, and felt my energy ball shoot past him, he gave a triumphant grin. I had to remind myself to force the energy to fizz out before it had to chance to reach the wall on the other side of the room. Then, I quickly recreated a ball of the same size and released it, only half-heartedly aiming at him directly. He dove to the right, and it would’ve caught the tip of his elbow if I hadn’t forced it to change its course midflight. The connection I felt to the ball’s energy was omnipresent, so I could bend its motion at will at all times. I moved it slightly to the side of his arm, just so it wouldn’t make contact with him at all, before making it disappear. 

And so, this was how our practice went on for awhile, with him “dodging” all my energy fields. If I couldn’t predict his movements early enough to make sure they wouldn’t hit him, I’d force them to move midair. Eventually I had to make it seem like I was getting the hang of it and started releasing them in a faster sequence. Thor had to increase the speed of his movements, and I secretly hoped I was making him break a sweat, if only to see that gorgeous chest glisten when we eventually took a break. 

I could tell he was about to hold up his hand to signal that I should stop, so I let off one last energy field before crossing my arms and stopping. He was only slightly out of breath when he noticed I had paused. 

“What’s wrong? You’ve barely been concentrating,” Thor complained. “If you’re going to be fighting Thanos and his army, you’re going to have to concentrate when you use your abilities, otherwise you won’t hit a single thing. I had a feeling my brother was exaggerating when he spoke of your control over the Stone’s power, and it seems I was right.” 

I narrowed my eyes in annoyance. If he really wants me to hit him, then fine. I’ll prove myself.

“You’re right, sorry,” I gritted my teeth. “I’ll try harder, give me another chance.” 

Thor gave a disappointed sigh and got back into a fighting stance. When he motioned for me to start, I gave one more fake attempt at hitting him, a small part of myself still holding me back from potentially hurting him. But when I saw his smug face, all of that resistance washed away. 

Drawing up another small energy field, I shot it right at his chest. He dropped to the ground before it hit him and did a little flip to get back on his feet. Thinking it had just shot past him, he looked at me expectantly for the hit one to come out of my palms. My hand was up, but not for the reason he thought it was. I grabbed ahold of the ball’s energy and forced it to circle around, turn sharply by Thor’s side, and collide straight into his stomach. He was completely unsuspecting, and the ball had come up in his peripheral vision so fast that he had no time to react. So, I let the Stone’s energy hit him full on, and the impact of it sent him flying into the wall. 

There was a loud boom when he collided with the wall’s hard surface, and then he fell to the ground face first, leaving a huge imprint on the surface behind him. I gasped and covered my mouth with my hands, frozen in shock, before running over to where he lay on the floor. 

I fell to my knees next to his head and grabbed the back of his shoulders. He gave out a groan when I pulled him over onto his back. 

“Oh my god, Thor, I’m so sorry,” I choked out, feeling utterly horrified with myself. “I didn’t think that would happen. I didn’t want to hurt you!” 

He let out what I assumed was a laugh, but it was broken and raspy. 

“That was some concentration,” he managed to say. It was such an incredibly dumb thing to say after I had just almost killed him, again, that I couldn’t help but smile. When he locked eyes with me, I felt such an intense amount of relief that he was alive. 

He slowly raised his arm, and I held my breath as he brought his hand to cup my face. His thumb made contact with my face and I completely froze. The pad of his digit carefully swiped under my eye, the sensation feeling so soothing that my eyes closed. I gave a little shiver when I felt a certain wetness smear across the small section of my face. 

Had I been crying? 

His thumb lingered there for another second, and then suddenly it was gone. When I opened my eyes again, I was face to face with him. I couldn’t bring myself to even breathe. I had no idea what was going on, and why he suddenly seemed to care for me. But I couldn’t deny that his touch had been so soothing and that I hadn’t wanted him to stop. Even though his hands were huge, his touches were tender and gentle. He had made me feel like a fragile piece of glass. I forced myself to keep my gaze on his face, but this was the closest I’ve ever been to him. And he was shirtless. I could steal a little peek at his pecs up close if I looked down for just a second…

“Point Break! (Y/N)!” 

I abruptly broke eye contact with Thor as soon as I heard Tony’s voice. An air of awkwardness filled the space between us as we quickly pulled apart from each other. I was able to stand up, but Thor could only sit up before Tony reached us.

“Dinner’s rea—MY WALL!” He shouted, sounding incredibly upset. “What the hell did you two do?”

Thor and I exchanged a look before I meekly offered,

“Target practice gone wrong?” 

Tony let out an exasperated sigh. 

“Just another thing to add to the list. Thor, can you stop getting your ass kicked by (Y/N)? That’d be great, thanks. But anyway, I’m here to get you guys for dinner, everyone’s itching to eat.” 

That’s when I looked around and saw that the gym was completely empty, save for the three of us. I must’ve been too focused on training with Thor that I hadn’t even noticed everyone had left already. 

“Thank you, Stark, we’ll be there shortly.” Thor replied gruffly, and Tony took his leave. 

When we were both alone again, Thor looked at me and cleared this throat rather loudly. 

“Uh, good job today.” He was uncomfortably shuffling his feet. I hope I didn’t just fuck things up again. 

“Thor, I’m sorry for launching you into the wall, I didn’t mean—” 

“I’m at fault.” He almost looked embarrassed saying that, but then he gave me a serious look. “It is obvious my brother was right about you. I’d be honored if we could continue our training sessions together.”

I let myself crack the tiniest smile. 

“Yeah, sure, of course.” 

He gave me a nod and headed off into the locker room. Once the door shut behind him, I let myself break out into a grin. Did Thor just admit that I was capable of handling the Stone, or did I make that up? Maybe he wasn’t that mad after all.

I pulled myself together and rode the elevator up to the ground floor. 

The kitchen was full of Avengers, I could see that even from down the hall, and it only served to remind me how surreal this whole situation was. What normal person gets to eat dinner with the Avengers? Well, I guess I’m technically not normal, but whatever. 

As soon as I walk into the kitchen, I’m greeted with the warms sounds of conversations and laughter. Bucky ushers me to the counter and hands me a plate, where I guess I was expected to fill it up buffet-style. Someone had obviously been grilling, because there were hot dogs and hamburgers galore, in addition to salads and pastas. 

“Come sit with us, (Y/N)!” Natasha invites me to sit next to her at the table and I’m immediately thrown into conversation.

“(Y/N), can we spar soon?” Peter asks me from across the table and I see Tony’s face morph into an expression of horror.

“Are you kidding me kid? She more than held her own against Cap and Thor today and you think you’re a match for her? No way am I letting you guys fight.” 

I have to laugh at this and I can’t help but stay amused throughout the course of the meal, as Tony launches into story after story.

“And after I was nice enough to get them for dinner, you know what they were doing? Destroying my gym!” 

“Destroying it is an exaggeration, Stark, I barely made any contact with your wall,” Thor slid into the conversation, having cleaned up nicely. He threw me a little wink and I was relieved that he really didn’t seem all that bothered by me anymore. 

“Barely touched it?! There’s a Thor shaped hole in the wall!” 

The room was engulfed in laughter, and my heart swelled with appreciation for my new family. With every bite I took, another Avenger was asking me how I enjoyed my first day at the complex, or if Steve and Thor went easy on me. I was overcome with a warm, fuzzy feeling at how everyone was so eager to accept me and include me. I felt even more determined to protect these people from Thanos. He wouldn’t take anything from me, not my Stone, not my families, nothing. 

 

As dinner began wrapping up, I asked Loki to bring me to the complex’s library. He raised an eyebrow at my request.

“Feeling a little bored?” He asked, amused.

“No, no, I just want to do some research.” 

Even though he didn’t look convinced, he didn’t say anything. 

We managed to meet up again after dinner. Everyone was heading off to bed after a long day of training, so I was fairly confident we wouldn’t raise any attention. Loki led me to the library, expertly navigating the huge complex. Thank god I hadn’t tried to find it myself, I would’ve gotten lost instantly. 

“Viola,” he proclaimed, stopping in front of intricate wooden double doors. “Stark’s library, full of ancient, universal texts, as well as more modern novels. Whatever you’re looking for, you’ll find it in here.” 

“Thanks, Loki. I appreciate how helpful you’ve been.” 

“Well, I might have had a personal agenda as well. I need a few more books myself,” He admitted, grinning sheepishly. “Plus, you don’t know how to get back to your room alone from here.” 

“I feel like you might be trying to spy on me, but I’ll let it go,” I teased, and pushed open the doors. 

They creaked open, the smell of wood filling my nostrils. The library’s interior looked like a maze, and I knew I’d have to use some of my speed to look through all the sections for what I was looking for. I stepped in and listened to my echoing footsteps. Libraries like this one made me feel safe, they were a comfort. I could get lost between the shelves and I could pretend no one would ever find me. 

Still, I didn’t let myself appreciate the library’s beauty for long. I was starting to feel the effects of spending all day in the gym, and I really didn’t want to retire to bed empty-handed. 

I skimmed the shelves as fast as I could, running my finger over the spine of each book I passed. I could easily tell which parts of the room were filled more with the modern texts, so I didn’t bother looking through those at all. I traced my way back to the section with the oldest texts in the room, the bindings leathery and falling apart. 

Finally, I found a shelf full of books on the subject I was so desperate to read about: The Infinity Stones. The books looked as old as time itself, and I was careful when I pulled out the first title that looked interesting. The last thing I wanted was for the book to fall apart as soon as I opened the cover. 

Luckily, none of them fell apart, and I grabbed a few texts that I hoped would give me some answers. 

“Loki?” I called out, hoping he had already finished. I’d never wanted to crawl into bed more. 

“Here I am, darling,” he replied, his voice sounding like it was coming from the entrance of the library. 

I met back up with him, and he was gracious enough to escort me back to my room. Before I could lock myself in for the night, he turned to me and said, 

“By the way, I think you proved yourself to the team today even more. Congratulations, I have a feeling you’ll be the newest member of the team very soon.”

He gave me a cocky smile and I shook my head, laughing. 

“Goodnight, you sappy old man.” 

I closed the door amid his protests that he wasn’t old and plopped down on the bed. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really experimenting with Thor's personality, I just can't decide! I hope you liked it anyway, and I'll try to produce something better next time. Thanks for reading and for everyone's support and comments! I love reading them all :)


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